Ambition
by vvheel
Summary: Different people, different places, different titles. History always repeats itself. A conventional relationship leads to an unconventional one. Emma-centric. Dean/Emma. Minor Seth/Paige.
1. Reflection

**Disclaimer: Everything I'm being creative with here belongs to the WWE.**

_Special thanks to wildlinygritte on tumblr for the help and inspiration._

* * *

Reflection

There was a ringing pulse in the air. It sounded like a hundred thousand birds chirping in unison. It should have hurt her ears, probably should have alarmed her. But in this moment nothing alarmed her. Her usual smile was gone, the light in her eyes was gone, blending in with the darkness of her bathroom and not even the sunlight streaming through the window could lighten her. It couldn't lighten anything.

Her bare feet were cold as she stood in front of the mirror. She blinked and the ringing was gone, replaced by a silence colder than the tiled floor.

She had been thinking about the title again. Before that, she had been thinking about Paige. About Paige winning and practically dominating the Diva's division. Suddenly the mirror began to shift and form. In its place was the very woman who meant more to her than anyone else. Paige had that dark look in her eyes she got when facing an opponent. Around her thin waist, the Diva's title glimmered. Emma opened her mouth to speak, but was cut off. Paige tilted her head. "You're my best friend." Her tone was grave. She was frowning.

Like a jolt of electricity, Emma felt like her heart had stopped the second that she woke up. Her hair was sticking to her face with sweat and she was gasping for air. Her hands were clutching the sheets so tightly that her knuckles were white. On her nightstand, her phone was practically rattling out of its pink case as it rang and rang. She grabbed it, breathing in before answering the call.

"Emma, are you in Orlando?" to her dread, Paige was on the other line, sounding nonchalant.

"Yes." she managed to get out, trying to hide her panting so Paige wouldn't notice.

"I just got in. Mind meeting me somewhere?"

"I...I have..." she grabbed her planner off the table with her free hand and turned to today's date. "I'm scheduled to train at the Center in a few hours."

Paige paused, then continued. "Well how about we meet there? I could watch you train. Maybe the trainer will let me join the fun. He knows more than anyone that we train best together." She laughed.

Emma smiled faintly. It was the real world. She was awake for sure now. Paige was still her best friend and one of the lights in her life. She didn't go after the title. That was the more important thing to her right now. "Sure, absolutely. Let me get dressed, I'll be there in an hour or so."

"Great, see you soon." Paige said cheerfully, a little too cheerfully. Last time Paige was this peppy to meet up, she broke the news to Emma that they needed to practice the electric chair so that she could use it on AJ Lee.

It took a great deal of endurance to get dressed and pack her gym bag quickly enough that she would be on time. Unfortunately, she was late of course. She had been too busy worrying about her kitchen being clean. In the car, she lectured herself for becoming so focused on something that didn't matter when the important thing that mattered was meeting with Paige. Old habits die hard.

She entered the arena and passed by a few up and comers before she found Paige sitting in one of the refreshment rooms. She was at a table all by herself, engrossed in her phone, another strange thing for Paige. Out of their little group of friends, Paige was the one who always complained that everyone was texting when they could be talking to each other.

The raven-haired woman looked up and a smile grew on her face. Emma was a little taken back by the sudden hug she was brought into by the taller woman. "Alright, I give in. What are you hiding?" Emma laughed, but Paige suddenly looked struck.

"Um...well...oh my god I'm that predictable?" she seemed genuinely horrified.

Emma sat down next to her. "Never mind that, what's going on?"

Paige tapped her black-painted nails on the counter. "Alright I'm just going to come out with it."

Emma's eyes widened. Maybe her nightmares were coming true. Would this be the moment Paige asks her never to challenge her for the title? Or if she says that she knew about Emma's thoughts all along? That every little nudge and joke was really leading to this underlying tension that would completely unravel the friendship they had been building for years? "I have a boyfriend. No, that sounds stupid. I'm seeing someone. A very serious someone. And not just him, he's definitely serious but I mean he and I are pretty...serious...are you alright?"

Emma blinked, suddenly filled with relief. "Who?"

Paige blushed. "Uh, well this is the part I was worried about. You know..." she twirled a lock of her hair around her finger. "...Seth Rollins?" she grimaced with worry and she was right to worry because Emma was completely snapped out of her trance.

"Seth? As in Seth "betray my friends for the big bad guys and a plastic case" Rollins?!"

Paige raised her hands. "Shh, Emma, Jesus do you want everyone to hear. He's not a bad guy. I mean, you know that even more than I do. You remember him. He's not all bad, he has some flaws but he's working on it. He lost that stupid plastic case and he's trying to repair things. The Authority fucked him over, they took back all they promised."

Emma frowned. "I knew him years ago, back when he was NXT champion. That man would never do the things he's done. I just don't understand."

Paige nodded. "I figured you wouldn't. But you know I've done some things too. Some really bad things and I understand him on a level you can't because you're this sparkling clean girl with a big heart." Emma cringed inwardly at that. Paige thought so highly of her. She had no idea of Emma's urge for the title. "But I really like him. And I wanted you to see the good in him. That's why..." she bit her lip. "I kind of invited him here."

Oh, that Paige. She was really sneaky sometimes. She laughed nervously throughout the whole wait, right up until a two-toned young man in a cross fit shirt entered the room. He might have been nervous, but was doing a good job of hiding it. Emma did nothing to hide her suspicions. Usually Paige was the protective one, but this time it was the other way around.

Paige was young and she didn't have many romantic experiences. Which was good, meant less heartbreak and mistrust between her and men she liked. But it also meant that Emma had more experience with douche bags than her. Seth wasn't a douche bag, the kind of friendship they had years ago prevented her from every thinking that, but she couldn't quite trust someone who hit their own brother with a steel chair for a corporate title.

He sat across from them and Paige smiled fondly at him, leaning her head on Emma's shoulder. Emma continued her suspicious stare, though Seth seemed hardly annoyed by it. "What's up, Em?"

"I have training in an hour." she curtly replied. She didn't mean to be so rude, truly she didn't, but she was already not on good footing today. "You should sit by Paige." she immediately moved her seat so that Seth could pull a chair between them. Now he was starting to feel a little awkward. She could tell she was breaking him. "You guys aren't very cozy for a new couple. Don't be so sterile."

Paige was giving her the strangest look and Seth was starting to blush red, but he grabbed her hand and pulled her close nonetheless. "This close enough for ya?"

She held out her hands her fingers mimicking a picture frame. "Hmm, yes that will do. You have passed test one."

Seth let out a slightly relieved laugh. It had been a few years since they were close and he wasn't quite used to her personality yet. "You really like to push buttons, huh? Sounds like someone else I know."

Paige scoffed. "If you mean that curly-haired psycho I will feel obligated to defend my best friend."

Seth laughed at her, nudging her with his elbow. "He's not so bad. Just likes to put people off if he mistrusts them. Emma's the same way."

"You're seriously suggesting Dean and Emma have something in common?"

"I'm not suggesting it, I'm stating it."

Emma tried to bite back her smile, but failed miserably. "You're such a diplomat. I've got to change before my trainer kills me for being late...again." She shrugged and bit them goodbye, making sure to sneak a glance at the happy, shy couple before leaving the room.

She was very unfortunate that she did, because the delay in her trek caused her to run into a very tall and characteristically leather-clad man. Something very brave took over her because she stepped in front of him immediately once again before he could brush past her.

"I know you."

"No shit, Sherlock. We work together." She chose to ignore the rude reply, standing her ground. He looked down at her, icy blue eyes filled with annoyance and something else. As if he was just taking a stroll down the hallway. Seth might not be her close friend anymore, but she wasn't just going to let her best friend's boyfriend get cornered in a room by the guy who had attacked him in every public place from here to Iowa. He tried to sidestep by her, but she mirrored him. He rolled his eyes. "What is your problem, lady?"

She put her hands on her hips. _Her problem?_ And of course she had to open her big stupid mouth. "Paige is in there and she is very happy therefore I am very happy and you are not going to ruin it by trying to kill her boyfriend."

"Boyfriend? You mean Seth's actually making the Paige thing a _thing?_ Wow congratulations to the happy couple. Now step aside, sister."

She blocked his second attempt. "Or what?"

"Or this." Effortlessly, he picked her up and threw her over his shoulder. It was a short walk down the hallway, but she made it hell for him as she kicked as hard as she could. Unfortunately for her, there were no passerby.

Paige and Seth stopped talking as soon as Dean kicked open the door, a very angry blonde thrown over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. The air was tense for a moment before Seth busted out laughing as hard as he could, Paige following.

"You need a new bodyguard." Dean said as he set her down. She glared angrily at him, smoothing down her shirt. "Cool it kid, Seth and I are reconciling." He smirked, crossing his arms. "For the moment."

Seth shrugged and Paige looked slightly guilty. Guess she hadn't revealed that part of her knowledge yet. Emma was flustered that he would go out of his way to be so rude to her instead of calmly explaining the situation, though she knew he was a man of action who enjoyed embarrassing people. She sighed, knowing she really needed to get to her trainer. It took some effort, but she managed to get past him into the hallway. She brushed her hair over her shoulder. "You're a jerk." As if that was some groundbreaking thing coming from her, but really she always tried to see the good in people. It's not that there was no good in him, she was just very flustered and wasn't sure how to react to him except for the same way she would have reacted to any random guy who acted like he did.

He gave her this award-winning smirk and she cursed herself for thinking such a thing. In a husky voice, he said: "You're cute. I like you."

Nope. Nope, nope, nope. She immediately turned around and tried to keep her cool as she walked away. She felt his eyes on her back and hoped to the heavens that he wasn't checking her out because NOPE. Closed for business. Out of order. Checked out temporarily. She had no time for these games, she had to train.

She cursed her inability to focus on multiple things because the strange feeling she got in the pit of her stomach wasn't going away and it was affecting her training. With a frustrated sigh, her trained asked for a ten minute break. She grabbed a water bottle and sat above the apron as she tried to focus on the problem at hand.

Dean Ambrose was attractive. He was attractive in that sleazy, gross way that would have her mother throwing a fit. He had the personality of a snake and she wanted nothing to do with that but my god was he attractive. She still felt the strong hand on the small of her back as he held her on his shoulder.

Maybe she was just very lonely. Physically, mentally too. But in all reality Dean was just a really bad solution to the first problem. She couldn't imaging him being mentally stimulating at all. Frowning, she closed her bottle. Now that the frustration and embarrassment wore off, she felt a little bad for being so rude to him. Sure he was...well, him...but he was still a person with feelings. If he was still hanging around Paige and Seth when she found them next, she would have to issue him an apology.

After a very disappointing training session, she exited the building with a phone pressed to her ear. "Sure, what time?"

"We're already here. It's not far from there. I know you don't like to frequent bars, believe me, neither do I, but Seth says he would wear this bar's logo on his ring attire if he could get an unlimited supply of their catfish special." Emma laughed. Yeah that sounded like Seth.

When Emma arrived at the bar, she immediately spotted her friend by her punk-inspired attire. She gave her a quick hug then followed with: "Bonehead's here too, but he's been slumping around the payphones since we got here."

Emma turned to see Dean standing in a little hallway that led to the restrooms. Slowly, the bar was becoming more and more crowded. Emma sat with Paige and Seth as they debated over Sami Zayn's ring ability until courage inspired her to excuse herself for a moment. Paige and Seth paid no attention as Seth continued insisting that he had no reason to be worried that he incurred the wrath of the red-haired top guy of NXT.

She made her way through the crowd to the back hallway. He was leaning against the wall, a few feet down the hallway with the payphone still pressed to his ear. She wanted to ask him why he wasn't just using his cell phone, but that was not her purpose. She wanted to get this out of the way as quickly as possible.

After a moment, he hung up and turned to her. "What's up?"

She didn't much care for his general casual nature. This wasn't a casual situation, but she wasn't going to let him infuriate her anymore. He really was just a regular person. "I...um..."

He cut her off, taking a few steps towards her, his hands in his pockets. "Did I make you all flustered again?" He was messing with her and very obvious about it. And it was working, but she held up her head defiantly.

"I came to tell you that I'm sorry for being so rude. It was a very simple thing and you did no harm. I shouldn't be rude to someone I've never met before because you are a person with feelings." She nodded, satisfied with her apology. But the look on his face struck her.

Instead of the flirtatious, haughty smirk he had been giving, he was now looking at her like she had said the craziest thing in the world to him. She was now looking at Dean Ambrose the person, not the mask he wore. She blinked up at him. He was quiet, still looking at her in surprise. "That it?"

"Yeah, pretty much." She nearly squeaked in surprise when he came towards her. Gently, more gentle than she thought he could ever mange, he gripped her shoulders and pressed her to the wall. She was flushed red by the point and he was staring down at her.

Maybe people didn't tell him that he was a person very often or something. Whatever had happened, the moment left as quickly as it came as he squeezed himself past her in the cramped hallway, heading straight for Paige and Seth.

Her back was still pressed against the wall as she watched him. That was very curious. Looks like Dean Ambrose had a few demons of his own. Though this was no surprise, the empathy that filled her chest certainly was.

Perhaps Seth was more than right and her and Dean had more in common than she'd thought.


	2. Career-First

******Disclaimer: Everything I'm being creative with here belongs to the WWE.**

* * *

Career-First

The things she did for love.

Emma exited her vehicle and headed up the paved sidewalk to the downstairs apartment with its red-painted door and rusted doorknob. Sure she had expected Seth to be there, as he was the reason she was there in the first place, but she hadn't expected the rest of the mini-party Paige had managed to gather in such short notice.

Immediately, Paige approached her, dressed in a red crop-top and looking top-notch fabulous while Emma just wore an old white tee with her high school football team's logo on it. She was prepared to get dye all over herself, not for a small gathering of Paige, her boyfriend, his weird friend, and a couple of the girls from NXT. Emma tucked her hair behind her ear and set down her bag on the counter, pulling out some plastic gloves and a comb.

She quickly greeted Bayley, Becky, and Alexa, all sitting at the kitchen table. The girls responded warmly before continuing their chatter. Emma headed to the back bedroom, so used to being in Paige's home that she felt comfortable just walking about. Dean was sitting on Paige's couch not paying attention to anything but the action movie on television.

In the back, Paige was leaning over Seth's shoulder, looking fondly at their reflection in the bathroom mirror. Seth looked slightly uncomfortable, shirtless and impatient to just get it over with.

Emma leaned on the door frame and played with the gloves in her hand. "So tell me again why I was recruited to do this."

"Because you don't cost $200 and because you love us." Paige wrapped her arms around said man's neck, choking him a little with her fondness.

Emma scrunched up her nose. "Hmm, don't push it. You're lucky I just have more experience with blonde dye than you." She eyed Paige's raven locks, freshly dyed over the reddish-blonde roots. "Now move over, this is going to be a bit awkward."

She managed to squeeze by Paige, with no help from the other girl as she laughed, and knelt down beside Seth, grabbing the bleach he had bought in preparation this morning. She grimaced at the obvious dark roots on the blonde side of his hair. "Hey don't give me that look." He laughed. "The only reason I'm doing it is so Paige and Jane will stop harassing me." He rolled his eyes, referencing to the VP of Talent Relations.

Paige ruffled his hair. "You'll look better, just wait and see. Emma can perform miracles."

Emma snorted. "It's just hair dye you dork. Now go join the party, I've got this handled."

Paige left with a quick kiss on Seth's cheek and pranced back to the gathering, where she proceeded to loudly bicker with Dean over the volume of the television. Seth laughed, eyes still on the mirror. From where they were, both had a view of the living room through the open bedroom door. Seth squirmed in the chair when Emma began applying the purple-colored bleach.

Maybe he was uncomfortable because of how quiet she was, but this was a pretty big task at hand and she already had enough trouble concentrating on multiple things at once. It was a bad habit, that's as far as she would go to admitting that it was a problem. She didn't like to dwell on the memories of her high school counselor insisting she had ADD. Maybe she did, but that didn't matter now. She could handle it. _Shit_. Lost in her own thoughts, she nearly got bleach on Seth's ear. That would have really hurt.

"Alright, all done." Emma double checked all the strands for any more black roots as they turned a deep orange. Meanwhile, Bayley was insisting on seeing Paige's belt. After some convincing, Paige brought it out for everyone to see, basking in the glow of admiration all the girls were giving her.

"Yeah, I worked so hard, you know? And AJ isn't getting this back while I'm around." Paige sounded so proud and slightly disbelieved by the glittering item in her hands. Bayley wrapped her arm around the younger girl's shoulders as they compared the pink butterfly-shaped title to Bayley's more traditional NXT one. Alexa Bliss leaned over to inspect the two, marveling at the reflection of her blue and platinum hair in the NXT one.

"Can you move your glittery butt out of the way?" Dean's gravely voice interrupted the moment as he groaned at Alexa Bliss. The blonde girl stuck her tongue out at him, then continued admiring the belt. Dean let out an audible groan and Paige threatened to knock him out with her title if he didn't quit complaining.

Emma's eyes hadn't left the item in Paige's tight grip. She was peering over Seth's lap at the group as they continued asking her about some of her toughest matches. To Emma's unfortunate luck, Seth had noticed her stare.

"You want that title." He said to her, voice low so only she could hear. It was a statement rather than a question.

Defensively, she immediately leaned back, tearing her eyes from the group to him. "I don't know what you're talking about."

He had a soft smile on his face. The same one he used to have when he would hang out with her after NXT tapings. That seemed like a lifetime ago, he was so different now, but that smile might have proved her a little wrong. "It's nothing to be ashamed of, wanting power. I mean, look who's talking."

Emma frowned. "It's not the same."

"It's pretty similar. Emma you're not some puzzle wrapped in a mystery. At least, not to me. You looked tired as hell until that belt came in to view. It's nothing to have nightmares over."

She felt a little sick at where this conversation was going. This was Paige's _boyfriend_ for God's sakes. She was _not_ going to do this with him. Not now, not ever. She stood up, trying her best not to panic and bolt out the door like she wanted to. Instead, she whispered to him. "I'm not going to betray her for a step-up in the company. I would never do that." _Not like you did._ And she didn't say that part out loud, but it was implied. Seth didn't seem bothered by it. He just shook his head. She looked up at Paige. "Done! Come keep your boy toy company." She gave him a quick glare, not so much one of viciousness, but one of warning to keep it between them. He shrugged and gave her a half-smile.

Quickly, she snapped a picture of Seth with his hair all gathered in clips on her phone and darted away before he could grab it. She squeezed by Paige as the raven-haired woman went to sit with her pouting boyfriend. Sitting on the couch, she chose not to show the picture to the girls. They were pre-occupied with NXT relations that Emma didn't understand. Well, not anymore. Most of the girls they were talking about she'd never heard of. Alexa was twirling a long strand of her hair as she ranted over a girl who was messing with her while Bayley and Becky listened, hands linked under the wooden table.

Emma opted for sitting on the couch, a cushion between her and Dean. He didn't pay her much attention until a commercial break. Then, he turned to her, still slouched down, and nodded at the cell phone in her hands. "Did you get a picture of Seth getting pampered?"

She gave him a blank look for a minute before smirking. "Maybe."

He leaned forward, interested now. "No way. There's no way he let you."

"Try me."

"Oh, I'm trying." He returned her smirk and she ignored the flirtatious quip, opening the photo on her phone and turning it to show him. He snorted. "That's beautiful."

She tilted her head at the photo. "I almost burned the poor guy's ear off. He really should just dye it black."

"No way, that was my suggestion. I deserve credit for something creative."

She widened her eyes. "_Your_ suggestion?"

He raised an eyebrow. "Yeah? Am I not creative to you?"

"No...it's not that." she looked at the television, shrugging, "I just never pictured a guy who can't even find properly-fitting sunglasses to be so in with hair color fashion."

Dean flipped his sunglasses off his forehead and onto the bridge of his nose and fake pouted. "Oh, I'm so hurt."

She gave him a half smile and he flipped up his sunglasses again. "Seriously, those are awful."

"Hey, they were cheap. I'm not worried about looking pretty when it's bright as hell outside." They both heard Paige giggle from the bathroom. Considering Seth had half his head covered in bleach, she assumed it was innocent. Dean, however, thought otherwise. "How classy, Paige."

"Don't make me come over there. I will wreck you, Ambrose." Came Paige's venom-laced reply, followed by Seth's loud laughter.

Emma turned to him, still smiling. "You probably should take that seriously."

Dean grimaced. "Geez, she gets all happy and giggly around you and Seth but she can be pretty snarky as hell when I push her buttons."

"Well, don't push her buttons." Emma laughed, turning to look at the girls at the dining table. They were still chatting, the two belts laid between them. Emma frowned deeply at the pink one. Suddenly her mood soured and she felt tired. All she wanted was to go home and nap, maybe shrug this strange feeling off in hopes that Seth will forget their conversation.

"Whoa, you got all dark." Emma looked at Dean in surprise.

"What?"

"Holy shit, now it's gone."

"Okay, you're weirding me out." She blinked at him in disbelief. Was he hallucinating or something? I mean, yeah she knew he was eccentric but-

"It's like you just switched on a light or something. For a moment there your face went all blank and angry or sad or something and then as soon as I mentioned it, you were yourself again."

Emma might have looked at him in horror, but he just turned back to the television screen, shifting in his seat to get slightly closer to her. Was she that obvious? For even someone like Dean Ambrose to pick up on? She really hoped that she was just underestimating his ability to read people because nobody had ever mentioned her...what did he say...going dark? She shook her head, leaning back against the couch and sighing.

Dean eyed the girls at the table before shifting a very noticeable inch closer to her. "So...what's going on here?"

She gave him a blank stare, even when he gestured between them. "What?"

"You know. Do I have to spell it out for you?" He smirked and she continued blinking at him.

"I...I really don't understand."

He leaned back, shrugging. "I thought you were good at picking up signals or something. Maybe you're just more innocent than I think." He laughed and changed the channel on the screen.

The strange, slightly condescending situation unnerved her. She didn't understand why he was a nice, calm guy one moment and then he had to go off and be _weird_ like that. She quickly excused herself to go check on Seth's hair. Dean didn't bother acknowledging her.

Paige was checking the roots for her when she got there. Some sort of hardcore screamo music was playing...or maybe it was just animal sounds. Emma was never sure with that kind of music. Seth reached over and turned off the offending sound when he spotted her. "Whatsup?"

"I just came over to check your roots, but it looks like Paige is handling it?" She was leaning on the door frame, arms crossed.

Paige immediately sensed her discomfort and stood up from Seth's side. "What's wrong?" Her eyes darted to the living room and she immediately turned the music back on to a more tolerable track, just loud enough for their voices to be drowned out in the living room. "Did he mess with you?"

Seth felt compelled to defend his kind-of friend. "Hey, Dean doesn't mess with anyone unless they give the green light." At Paige's glare he continued. "But he can be a bit overwhelming."

Emma shook her head. "No he was really cool. We were just laughing about the picture I took of you...sorry. But...I don't know he got all weird and flirty and stuff and...I don't know it was weird."

Paige tilted her head. "Yeah that's probably because he thinks you're hot."

Emma blinked. "He what?"

"Well, he kind of told you. He just...told us more." She tried to hold back laughter at her friend's shocked face.

"He called me cute. That's condescending not him being attracted to me."

Seth failed at holding in his laughter. "Don't be so offended. He finds every blonde he meets hot. That's just how he is, don't take it personally. Unless..." he pointed to her, "he goes too far. Then just call me and I'll kick his ass."

Paige interrupted. "You'll have to get in line behind me."

Emma smiled, raising her hands. "I'll do any ass-kicking on my own, but thanks, you guys."

"So..." Paige turned back to Seth, but continued talking to Emma. "how does that make you feel?"

"How does _what_ make me feel?"

"The fact that Dean thinks you're smoking hot." she snorted.

Emma shook her head. "Uh, surprised, a little I guess. Not really much else, at least I don't think. I mean, it's a think that exists." She shrugged and Paige nodded in understanding.

Seth gave Paige a confused look, to which the raven-haired woman replied: "It doesn't affect her one way or the other. Boys are gross and we divas focus on our careers, handsome men be damned."

Seth nodded. "I see. You've always been a career-first woman, Emma."

"Still am." Emma uncrossed her arms and backed out of the bathroom. "In about ten minutes go ahead and wash it out. I need to head back home and go grocery shopping. That vitamin shop I really like closes early on the weekend."

Paige gave her a warm smile and Seth waved at her. She bid them and the girls at the dining room table farewell, earning a very strong hug from Bayley and a less suffocating one from Alexa. Grabbing her bag, she managed a reluctant wave at Dean. He gave her a very smoldering smirk in reply.

As she headed to her car, she thought about the new elements at hand. Seth had her figured out but was apparently not going to tell Paige. And Dean found her hot or something. She started her car, throwing the bag on the passenger seat.

Two very distracting elements that did not need to matter in her life, but somehow did. Seth seemed to have solved the problem himself by keeping quiet, but she worried that he would try to talk to him about it. No matter what he said, their situations were completely different. The Dean distraction could be solved by simply never seeing him, which wasn't too hard considering she rarely did anyways. Eventually he would lose interest and not try to engage in chasing after her. What he did with his life was completely his business but she was not that type of girl. Being attracted to anyone was not in her agenda anytime in the near future and yes Dean was attractive but she could handle herself.

She gripped the steering wheel hard. All that mattered was training, her vitamins, and waiting. She remembered how the belt glittered under the dining room lamp. The Diva's title was currently going in circles between AJ Lee and Paige and, from the look on AJ's face when she lost it, that wasn't ending anytime soon.

Emma just had to wait until Paige lost the title again. She was no Seth, if she had to do this she would do it as cleanly as possible. Through whatever means AJ Lee gained it back, it was then that Emma would make her move for it. For now, she would train without distraction. And she would wait.


	3. Playing Games

**Disclaimer: Everything I'm being creative with here belongs to the WWE.**

* * *

Playing Games

Her eyes shifted left right, left again. When she was around Paige or Bayley or anyone from the NXT crew, really, she was much more talkative. But when it came to the Total Divas, she was quiet as a mouse. And it's not that they intimidated her, though sometimes Brie would give her a look...they just never said anything she was interested in responding to.

All the women sitting around her in catering were financially comfortable, whether by their own work or through their families or spouses. And it was nothing for her to judge, she didn't see anything wrong with it, but she just had nothing of value to give to a conversation over a Louis Vuitton purse.

Summer Rae approached the table, a shining star both figuratively and literally as she was Emma's saving grace conversationally, but was also dressed in her bright gold ring gear. Emma could see Nikki Bella and Natalya give each other glances at the blonde's appearance but one look from Brie quieted any words they wanted to exchange.

"Hey, want to get out of here?" Emma wasn't sure she liked how Summer's wording sounded. Mostly because it gave off a negative vibe, but she nodded anyways. One glance back and she saw the same exchange of glances Nikki and Natalya had over Summer. If she wasn't on their shit list before she more than likely was now. Divas could be very competitive. Emma herself had no qualms with them, but she wouldn't mind taking any of them on in the ring.

Summer strolled lightly on her feet, walking next to Emma as the two of them headed to the parking garage. Emma chose this moment to finally speak. "Whatsup?"

"Oh, nothing." Summer flashed her a brilliant smile, but Emma knew it was to cover up her hurt. "It's just...those girls don't like me and I'm starting to think I shouldn't talk to them at all." They both got into Summer's rental car. "Lay's been giving me advice on how to deal with them, but she respects that I'd rather not be involved at all at this point." She put her phone on its charger after starting the engine. "She's been really good to me."

As Summer Rae backed out of the parking spot, Emma became quiet in her own thoughts. For the past year or so, she had been doing a few mixed tag team matches a month with Dolph Ziggler. The bleached blonde really had a thing for Summer and Emma tried not to let her patience wear too thin when he would constantly ask about her during training. One day, the neon-clad man leaned forward as he was stretching and quietly asked her if there was more than meets the eye to Summer Rae and Layla. Emma simply shrugged at the time, but it got her curious as well. "Are we going to meet Layla there?"

Summer glanced at her as she drove down the road. Having more experience with travel than Emma, she usually picked the restaurants because both girls were aware that she had great taste. "No, she's with her sister this week." Summer pouted, which made Emma almost laugh.

Arriving at the hole-in-the-wall bar, both women exited the vehicle and headed inside. Summer was tapping away at her phone. Emma looked around, eyeing the paneled walls and high wooden ceilings. "Where did you find this place?"

"Oh, Paige mentioned it to me once. I know you're not much for bars, but I figured they had food here, too." Summer didn't look up from her phone. Once she did, she got Emma's attention. "Speak of the raven-haired devil, there's your pale girlfriend now. She's got someone attached to her hip."

Emma looked up to see Paige and Seth pressed at the sides together at the bar. Next to them, to Emma's dismay and Summer's delight, was Dean Ambrose. Now, Summer wasn't excited for the reasons the Total Divas would assume, she just knew that Dean Ambrose was a good challenger for her level of drinking. Waving off Emma's warning of Smackdown taping tomorrow, Summer sat next to Dean, with Emma taking a seat next to Paige on the opposite side. Hopefully he wouldn't see her and get all...distracting. Paige looked at her like she had just popped down from the ceiling and Dean greeted Summer loudly as the blonde woman snorted, rolling her eyes.

"Fancy meeting you here." Paige smirked at her as Seth continued flipping through his Twitter feed. "You've been frequenting bars a lot more since Seth and I started dating. Am I noticing a pattern?"

Emma glanced quickly down the bar to where Dean and Summer sat. "No. Summer picked."

Taking that as a satisfying answer, Paige turned to the menu in her hands. "What'll you have?"

"Oh, I already ate in catering. Summer just wanted to spare the both of us from the Total Divas."

"I'll drink to that." Seth commented comically, downing his whiskey.

Emma cringed at his ability to drink in such a manner. But he was a pretty big guy. The equally large man next to him had also downed his drink, probably not his first of the evening. He and Summer Rae were talking about different kinds of tequila and vodka, a contest over which was better. Seth and Paige paid them no heed, probably glad for some separation from the blonde man.

Emma could see the look on their faces. They truly were in love. And probably wanted to be alone. Not that she was interested in being at a bar with two people engaging in a drinking contest without saving grace, but she decided to give them some free time. "Paige." she elbowed her friend, gaining the woman's attention. "You guys should get out of here. I'll babysit these two."

Paige exchanged a look with Seth, who only raised his eyebrows. She turned back to Emma with a smile. "With pleasure." With all the strength she had, the raven-haired woman pulled her large boyfriend off the barstool and out the door. Dean peered over at the two exiting lovebirds, then to Emma, now two empty seats away from him.

She blinked at him for a second too long. He caught her gaze and flashed an award-winning smirk. She pursed her lips. Douchebag of the Year. She was surprised he didn't try to drag her closer until an hour and a few drinks later when he turned in his seat to her mid-conversation with Summer. "You're so prude, you know."

Emma's eyes snapped from her cell phone screen to the man next to her. "You're drunk so I'm going to ignore that."

He looked offended. "Yeah you're killing the fun here, sweetheart."

She frowned, regretting volunteering to stay there. "Does me sitting here not talking to you bother you that much?" It must have affected him because he went quiet, just staring her down, until he promptly turned back to Summer, who was watching the sports channel on the bar's TV screen and admiring her nails.

After a silent moment, the taller blonde ran a hand through her hair. "Well I've had my fun. I should probably get back and sober up. Can't get beauty sleep while intoxicated." With a grace only Summer had, she hopped off the bar stool, Emma and Dean following her out the door. Since Paige and Seth took the car, Emma drove both Dean and Summer back to the hotel. Both of them were sitting in the backseat, arguing about American football obnoxiously.

At one point, Dean tried to pull her into the conversation. She only raised her eyebrows at him in the rearview mirror before Summer let out a laugh. "She's Australian, idiot."

"Yeah, but, like, dudes here watch soccer all the time."

Emma didn't take her eyes off the road. "Well that's because our football is world-class."

Dean snorted. "How Cesaro of you."

Emma rolled her eyes, wanting to continue this banter but knowing better than trying to engage in actual conversation with him. Not when she was trying to avoid how distracting her could be. She almost jumped out of her skin when he lightly patted her shoulder. His hand was big enough to cover it. She blushed, thanking God for the time of day. He wouldn't be able to tell her reaction in the dark car.

She pulled into the parking garage of the hotel and Summer continued leading the way as they headed down the hall. She practically skipped into her hotel room, blowing them both a kiss before promptly closing the door. Emma huffed, shaking her head in confusion. Summer was strange. She was nice, but very strange. Just a naturally fliratious woman. Figuratively dusting off her hands of the situation, Emma turned until she saw the real problem of the evening.

Damn her nurturing nature. She wouldn't feel right just leaving Dean to stumble into his hotel room. "Come on." She waited for him, but he was leaning against the wall at this point. He shrugged at her and she dramatically rolled her eyes. "Really?"

He laughed when she approached him, wrapping her arm around his waist as she led him down the hallway. "Which one's yours?"

"That one." He pointed as she led them, gripping tightly to his side in case he suddenly fell. She was strong, but he was quite heavy and she knew if he flopped on the ground she wouldn't waste time trying to catch him. He continued just smiling like an idiot and she felt her face flush. Stupid, stupid. She couldn't help that he looked so handsome when he was relaxed like this. Sure he was pretty good looking when he was all sweating and angry, but this was lovelier sight.

She cursed her thoughts, knowing she was blushing red at this point. She continued her trek until she grabbed the hotel key from his hands and shouldered the door open. Her shoulder was killing her from his weight and she let him go once they were inside so he could lean on the wall.

Her back was to him, facing into the hotel room as she rolled her shoulders. A click behind her grabbed her attention. She turned to see Dean Ambrose leaning smugly against the closed hotel door. She frowned. "You could have carried your own weight."

"Yeah, but I couldn't resist seeing you huff and puff to try and get me down a hallway. You're stronger than I thought."

She bristled. "I bet I'm a hell of a lot stronger than you think."

"Is that so?" He stood up straight, practically _sauntering_ towards her. She gripped her hands into fists, trying to keep up appearances, but she knew that she probably had a deer-in-the-headlights look at this point.

He was three feet away from her, now. Two feet. One. Just inches now. She let out a shaky breath as he looked down at her, towering over her. She felt suffocated, but she couldn't move. Damnit. "What the bloody hell are you-"

Her words caught in her throat when he gently placed a hand on her chin, thumb pressed near her bottom lip. "I don't like playing games."

"What are you talking about? I'm not-" her voice started to rise and the urge to shove him away engulfed her right up until the second he kissed her.

His hand was now gripped in the back of her hair, more rough than she would have liked but she was too focused on the lips pressed against hers. She gasped when he pulled her closer and he took it as an invitation to lick her bottom lip. That got a reaction out of her. How the hell did he know how she liked to be kissed? His arms snaked around the small of her back tighter when he let out a little noise.

She hadn't noticed that her arms were around his neck until the horrible realization that she was kissing him and responding well to it hit her and she pulled back. She could only break the kiss, as his hold on her was tight. They both were breathing deeply and he seemed to look just as surprised as she was, which confused her. They stared into each other's eyes a moment before he quietly let her go. He looked strangely as upset as she was. One side of her was glad for it, but the other side wondered if she just wasn't a good kisser or something.

She broke the silence the moment he awkwardly looked away. "Y-you don't know anything about me."

And she saw him turn to respond to her, not angrily, but with a wide-eyed look and it only made her run faster. He didn't chase her down the hallway and she heard the hotel room door slam shut behind her. Her room was only a floor down but she ran the whole way, not caring how much noise she was making. She only stopped to gently close the door to the hotel room she was sharing with Paige. The raven-haired woman was nowhere to be found and Emma figured she was staying on Seth's bus for the evening. She immediately got ready for bed, making sure everything was in place. She even took a shower and tried to clean up the room, just to distract herself.

But here she was sitting on her bed, her phone in her lap. She stared at it blankly. No incoming texts came. She just wanted Paige at the moment, but didn't want to disturb her. So she opted for curling up on the bed on top of the blankets, staring at the phone as if it would do something to help her.

She couldn't help but wonder if this was what it would be like without Paige. When she challenged her best friend for the Diva's Championship. Surely Paige would hate her...but she couldn't hate her forever. Lonely times like these made Emma wonder if it would be worth it.


End file.
